I’m not qualified to write a list of the best video games ever made. No one is. No one on the planet has played every video game ever released. No writer can completely remove his personal preferences from any attempt at objectivity. No reviewer can take a thoroughly esoteric value like “quality” and transform it perfectly into a linear scale. Many have vainly tried; I’m not even going to bother. I haven’t played every game ever. I never owned a Super NES, and I haven’t touched a Nintendo console or handheld since the days of the 64. I skipped the original Playstation and didn’t buy a Playstation 2 until the console and all of its games were dirt cheap because the Playstation 3 had just launched. For what it’s worth, I generally dislike first-person-shooters that have me shooting something other than aliens, games based on...

Apparently people want to smell like Mega Man. I’m serious. Perfume company Epic-Scents has signed a deal with Capcom to produce a line of fragrances representing the company’s seminal characters. Although we can only imagine what video game characters might smell like because idiot scientists thought they should spend all their time on 3D rather than Smell-o-vision, it’s pretty obvious there are a few men and women in our favorite medium with aromas that should remain safely locked inside their respective discs, cartridges, or DLC. Deckard Cain, Diablo 3 – Hello my friend. Stay awhile and listen…to the ridiculously long list of things that might be living in Cain’s beard. Traipsing around the world of Diablo in sandals seems like a great way to contract some mutant form of athlete’s foot even John Madden’s most enthusiastic “boom!” couldn’t stand against. This is a very old man...

Last week’s revelation that the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot includes an attempted sexual assault has kicked up a shitstorm of controversy throughout the industry. Supposedly the scene is included solely to make the player want to protect Lara Croft. From where I’m sitting, this sounds like bunk. Good writers don’t have to rely on that kind of cheap, shocking trick to make someone care about one of their characters–they write deep, compelling characters the player can’t help but like. Modern gaming is infested with vapid female archetypes with ridiculous figures that do little to help the industry’s image, but the following five heroines are exceptions to that rule–and they’re examples to which Crystal Dynamics would be wise to look. 5. Faith, Mirror’s Edge – Saving her sister and fighting government surveillance through the power of parkour, building Faith like one of the women from Dead or...

Everybody’s got their favorites, and rightfully so–everybody’s taste in entertainment is different. Most favorites probably need no defense; very few people will make a face at you if you tell them how much you love Portal or Final Fantasy VII, for instance. But for each of your favorites the masses consider acceptable, you’ve probably got several that make people scratch their heads and a few you keep to yourself for fear of ridicule. These are a few of mine, the games (and a few other things) that I’d rank surprisingly high were I to list my all-time favorites. Persona 3 (Sony Playstation 2) – My absolute most favorite game of all time. I’ve probably spent more time with P3 the last three years than I’ve spent drinking, pooping, or writing silly things for the Internet. Something about it just really resonates with me despite the fact...

Live Gaming and Podcasts

Get Email Updates

Subscribe to the D Pad D Bags Email list to get our posts sent directly to your email!

Instant entry to exclusive contests!
We are cleaning out our prize closet, and email subscribers are getting the first crack at it!

Enter your email address:

About Us

Established in 2010 as a simple podcast, D Pad D Bags is a premiere online source for gaming commentary and humor. If
you want vapid previews, up-to-the-second rumors, or puff-piece reviews that pander to advertisers, you're in the wrong
place. You can find steaming piles of that crap all over the Internet. Our particular brand of thoughtful editorials and off-
beat comedy is unique in a world of gaming journalism that seems petrified of writing anything insightful that deviates from
the usual script. There's a jagged, bleeding hole in the market where thought-provoking games writing should be; we're here
to fill that hole by calling 'em as we see 'em and delivering a heavy dose of critical thinking to a medium that deserves it.